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CHARLES W. WAILEY, OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

Letters Patent No. 67,003, dated July 23, 1867.

DEVICE FOR PULLIN G METAL HOOPS FROM THE FINISHING-ROLLS 0FROLLING-MACHINES.

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TO ALL WHOM I'll MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, CHARLES W. WAILEY, of the city of New Orleans,parish of Orleans, and State of Louisiana, have invented a certain new,useful,and improved Machine for Pulling Hoop Iron from the FinishingRolls of Rolling-Mills; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being bad tothe annexed drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a top view of the machine.

Figure 2, a side view, and

Figures 3, 4, 5, sectional views of certain parts thereof.

In all rolling-mills as at present operated hoop iron, as it passesthrough the last or finishing-rolls, is caught with a pair of tongs by aman who runs away with it as fast as it comes through the rolls, with aview to keep it straight; but it is self-evident that, however practisedthe man'may be in the work, this object can hardly ever be exactlyattained. Hoops are usually rolled forty feet in length; and drawn outby hand, as under the present system, not one ina thousand probably willbe found on'examination to be perfectly straight. If the man fails to.seize with his tongs the end ofthe hoop exactly as it emerges frombetween the rolls, he cannot afterwards get hold ofit, for it curls upvery much-like a shaving from a carpenters plane, and is consequentlylost,

because it would cost more than its value to straighten it. Experiencehas demonstrated that the loss from this cause in mills, in which veryexperienced and expert men are employed, is about one hoop in everyseventeen that passthrough the rolls. In mills in which the operativesare selected with no great care, or are inexperienced, the loss is, ofcou,rse, far greater.

My invention, operating automatically, entirely dispenses with the useof men in drawing the hoops from the rolls. It seizes with unerringcertainty and regularity each hoop the instant it emerges from therolls, and running away with it in a perfectly straight line, pulls uponit withjust suflicient force to keep it straightuntil it passes throughthe rolls, then drops it upon the floor, and running back is again readyto seize another hoop. My machine therefore saves the wages paid to thelaborers whom under the present system it is necessary to employ,prevents the loss of any of the hoops from a failure to catch them asthey come through the rolls, and

secures a straight and therefore more valuable product. Nor is itsapplication confined to any particular size or form of rolled iron,always provided the same be not large. It is equally adapted to thepulling of the hoops intended for a lady's hoop-skirt,-and for the hoopsused in banding cotton-bales, &c., or for small bar iron,- 'whetherround, square, or any other form. But my invention will be betterunderstood by referring to the drawings.

A A represent the finishing-rolls of an ordinary rolling-mill; B Brepresent rebated or grooved guide-ways, which may be of any length thatmay be desired, about forty feet being sufliciently long for mostpurposes. 0 is that part of the machine which I designate by the name ofhoop-puller or tongs-carrier, the tongs that are carried by it being theappliance that seizes upon the end of the hoop as'it emerges between therolls A A, and pullsupon the hoop with a sufiicient degree of tension tokeep it always straight. .The endless chain D is impelled by a toothedwheel, E, which is driven by spur gearing connected with the bottomroller A. The spur-wheel S, (see fig. 5,) if keyed permanently on theshaft of the roller, would drive the chain and tongs at a considerablygreater speed than that with which the hoop passes through the rolls;but this wheel S works upon a friction-conq and being pressed againstthe cone by a nut, is subjected to a degree of friction proportionate tothe required amount of pressure; in other words, the friction is madejust equal to the tension desired to be applied to the hoop. When thetongs seize the end of the hoop they become, so to speak, fastened toit,'and hence the carrier cannot travel fast'cr than the hoop, howevergreat the tension upon the latter, and hence the wheel S mustconstantly-slip upon its axis as long as the tongs have hold upon thehoop; and hence, again, when the hoop is released from the carrier inbringing the tongs back for the next hoop, there being then nothing toresist or impede its motion, returns atthe full speed imparted to thechain D by. the wheel S when not slipping upon its axis cone 3 The conemay be placed on any of the intermediate gears, and the operation andeffect will be precisely the same. '13 F are guide-ways or chutesthrough which the hooppasses between the rolls. The hoop is introducedat a, fig. 2, passes through chute F between the rolls and then throughchute F. G is a pendent trigger pivoted at 7), and hangsin a slot 0 madelongitudinally and perpendicularly through chute F. This tr ger has apin, 7*, (see fig. 1,) projecting laterally from its rear sideunderneath the catch-bar H, the position of which is horizontal and in aline parallel with the line of the guide-ways B B. The bar 11 is pivotedat c to an upwardly-projecting fixed arm or standard of thetongs-carrier C. J is the movable jaw of the tongs proper, and itsfunction is to close upon and thus seize or grab the endof the hoop asit comes from the rolls. This movable jaw vibrates within fixed limits,in order to'fulfill its office, upon a pivot at d, and it is providedwith apin, Z, (see fig. 1,) projecting from the upper part of it tocatch in the notch s in the catch-bar H. K is a. bent spring securelyattached to tongs-carrier O, and so placed as to press continuallyagainst the movable jaw J considerably above the point at which thelatter is pivoted, and closes the tongs upon the end of the hoop as soonas the saine is in position to be seized. The lower end or butt of thisspring constitutes the fixed or immovable jaw of the tongs. Fig. 4 is across-section of the guide-ways B B and tongs-carrier C, showing therebates or grooves through which chain D passes, and the position of theshifting-clutch L when thc saine is in connection with the upper part ofthe said chain. ff are pins projecting from the front face of theshiftingclutch L, and between which the pivoted spring-lever Mis-placed, and t is a. pin on the reverse side of the clutch whichserves the purposeof holding the latter, in connectionwith the upperportion of the chain D, long enough after the tongs have been opened toinsure the dropping ofthe hoop upon th'e'iloor. N is a pawl pivoted tothe tongs-carrier, and having sufiicient length to catch intoratchet-teeth I. The pivoted spring-lever M is operated by movable jawJ, by means of a projecting part of the jaw at d, fig.- 2, that fitsinto a notch in the short end of the same. The pawl N is also operatedby the jaw J, there being a. projection from the latter, that is notseen on-the drawing in consequence of its being on the inside of the jawat r, which is placed or extends underneath the pawl in such a mannerthat when the jaw closes the pawl is thrownout of the ratchet It at thesame instant that the pin Zis released from the notch s in the catch-barH. P is an adjustable or movable block, whose function it is to reversethe movement of the tongs-carrier. This block is adjusted upon theguideway B, and it can be fixed at any distance from the rolls, andthus-the tongs-carrier need never move furtheraway from the rolls thanis required by the length of the hoop, bethe same greater or less. Inthis block is a pin, 2', which in the operation of the machine comesinto contact with the inclined upper part of movable jaw J, and pressingupon the same opens the tongs at the same instant that the pin t entersbetweenthe ridges or ilanchcs m and j, and thus maintains the connectionbetween the clutch L and the upper portion of chain D until the carrierhas gone far enough to insure the falling of the hoop upon the floor.This object is fully attained by the time the pin t reaches the end a ofthe fianch j, and at this point the clutch L by its own weight, being nolonger obstructed by the fianch, drops out of connection with the upperand into connection with the lower portion of chain D. The flanch m,being curved downwardly for such purpose, assists in the operation ofthrowing the shifting-clutch L from the upper to the lower portion ofthe chain D, and when this is done the direction of the tongs-carrier isinstantly reversed, and it is taken back to the rolls to seize the nexthoop. Fig. 3 shows a cross-section of the guide-ways B B. In the returnof the tongs-carrier to the rolls the shifting-clutch L, at its lowerend, comes upon and is gradually raised by the inclined plane 0, untiljust as the carrier brings the tongs into position to take hold ofanother hoop, when it is lifted out of the lower portion of the chain,or, technically speaking, is thrown. out of gear, and thus the chaincontinues in motion, whilst the tongs-carrier remains quiescent untilthe end of the next hoop enters,the tongs, and the carrier isagain,thereby, set in motion. The position held by all the parts of thetongs-carrier, when the end of a hoop has just been seized and'thecarrier is just starting ofi from the rolls, is shown at fig. 2.

The operation of my invention is as follows: The chain D runs constantlywith the rollers, and its motion is-about twice as fast as that of thehoops'as they pass through the rolls. When the end of a hoop comesthrough the chute F it pushes forward the pendent trigger G until .theend thereof comes on top of the hoop. This brings the pin '1' in contactwith the catch-bar H, and raising the end next the rolls and depressingthe other end releases the pin Z from the notch s. The instant this isdone the bent spring'K forces the upper part of the movable jaw Jforward, and in doing this closes the tongs upon the hoop. The jaw J,whilst thus changing its position, lifts the pawl N out of the ratcheth, and at the same time, through the agency of spring-lever M, raisesthe shifting-clutch L into connection with the upper portion of thcchainD. All this being done-and it will be observed that everything is doneat very nearly the same instant of time-the carrier is instantly carriedaway with the hoop. If the tongs did not have hold of the hoop thecarrier would slide oif twice as fast as the hoop passes through therolls; but owing to the fact that the driving spur-wheel works upon afriction cone, its motion will be precisely the same with that of thehoop at which it is pulling. When the upper inclined part of the jaw Jimpinges against pin iprojccting from the block I, the tongs open as wehave seen, and there is no longer any grip upon the hoop. If there werenothing to prevent it the opening of the tongswould instantly throw theshifting-clutch out of connection with the upper and into connectionwith the lower portion of the chain D, and thus reverse the motionof thecarrier before the end of the hoop was out of the tongs. This wouldprobably double up the hoop, if no worse consequence resulted, and hencethe importance of the flanches m and j upon the block P, which avoid thedifficulty in question in this way. At the same instant that the pin 2'comes into contact with the movable jaw, pin t enters between theseilanchcs, and resting upon J prevents the clutch from leaving the chainuntil the carrier C has moved a sufiicient space after the tongs havebeen opened to insure the falling of the hoop out'of them with absolutecertainty. The space of a foot or eighteen inches will be ample for thispurpose. From a point just over the farther end 71 of tho'ilanch lunch mcurves abruptly downwardly, and thus when the pin t passes the end it offlanchj, it strikes against this flanch, and the effect is to arrest thefurther oil motion of the carrier, and at the same time to assist inthrowing the clutch into connection with the lower portion'of the chain.When this is done the carrier is instantly taken back with acceleratedspeed to the rolls.

Having thus described my invention and its mode of operation, what Iclaim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The automatic pulling of hoops from the finishing-rolls ofrolling-mills by means of a. reciprocating carrier arranged and operatedsubstantially as herein described for the purpose set forth.

2. The tongs-carrier C with its appliances herein enumerated,substantially as described for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination of the tongscarrier O and its appliances with theguide-ways B B, as described for the purpose set forth.

. 4. The combination of the tongs-carrier C and its appliances, theguide-Ways B B, chain D, and toothwheel E, with the adjustable block P,substantially as described for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination of the tongs-carrier C and its appliances, theguide-Ways B B, the endless chain D, tooth-wheel E, and block P, withthe friction cone 31, substantially as described fort-he purpose setforth.

0. W. WAILEY.

Witnesses:

EMILE Rosa, G130. HOWARD KING.

